David Drucker/ Contributing Writer
The men and women’s cross country teams will travel to Orlando, Florida, this weekend for the 19th Annual Disney Cross Country Classic, looking to build upon the strong performances made in Gainesville.
Though ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex encourages athletes and their families to enjoy The Walt Disney Company’s other amenities, the Panthers will focus on building upon the improvements made two weeks ago, at the Mountain Dew Invitational, where many Southeastern Conference programs were present.
The men placed 8th out of 13 total NCAA Division I teams competing in the 8-kilometers, with an average of 27:41.50. Freshman Ronny Greenup led the way with a time of 25:33.86, a mark good enough for 31st place out of 264 total contestants in the 8K. This was Greenup’s second consecutive finish in the 25-minute range.
Head Coach Ryan Heberling stated that he is looking forward to Greenup going sub-25 soon, and this weekend’s event will give Greenup another opportunity to do so.
Also cracking the top 100, was junior Daniel Puentes with a time of 26:42.93, putting him in 83rd place. The Hollywood native made a vast improvement over his time at the University of Central Florida Invitational, where he finished in 29:01.37.
Panther cross country fans should expect Puentes to continue to improve and notch his best time of 2014 this weekend.
Other times for the men who participated in Gainesville includes junior Eli Monzon’s 27:57.52, freshman Andres Magliano’s 28:06.28, and freshman Leonel Pozo’s 30:06.89.
The women’s cross country team managed to capture a rare achievement in Gainesville; all four of the women recorded 2014 bests for the 5K.
Senior Catherine Ventura claimed the best time and her best for 2014 with 19:50.11, putting her at 128th place.
Sophomore Isolada Montiel was close behind with a time of 20:17.94. This became Montiel’s best personal time as well, beating her old mark by nearly a minute.
Sophomore Brittany Wasserback competed with the team for the second time this season and ran a 22:09.08. Like Montiel’s time, this new 2014 best beat her old one by nearly a minute.
Also participating was sophomore Adrienne Gerzeny, who ran a 21:15.60 – a 2014 best.
A pattern of consistent improvement is obvious among the women runners, and all should be expected to continue to beat their old times in Orlando.
The Disney Cross Country Classic is a chance for the men and women to stack themselves up against the best in the nation and have fun while doing so. If the men and women can keep up their trend of improvement, Panther fans should look for a new slew of 2014 bests out of this weekend’s run.